FRANCIS FATIGUE UPDATE: Father Longenecker Has Had Enough

The latest gossip is that an Argentinian nun says Pope Francis told her that it was okay for women to use various forms of birth control and sterilization.

Surely not, but then again maybe.

Really? But then who can say for sure?

You can’t believe all this stuff, but then again maybe you can.

In his book To Change the ChurchRoss Douthat observes that this is actually the way Pope Francis works, and the way Jesuits have worked in the past. They chip away and chip away–never quite saying what they mean but never quite denying it either.

You’ll notice this is how James Martin works, for example. He never supports same sex marriage, but then he never condemns it either. If the document doesn’t forbid something they take it as given that it is not only allowed but preferred.

So the pope says something outside the box and everybody gets nervous.

Then the Vatican communications people go into damage control mode and only make things worse.

So let’s assume that the pope really did tell an Argentinian feminist nun that certain forms of birth control are ok.

Then the Communications Office says something bland like, “These words are not necessarily an accurate report of the Holy Father’s exact wording.”

What they don’t do is issue a stout denial like “The Pope never spoke to that woman.” nor do they issue an unambiguous clarification. Neither do they issue a statement from the pope affirming without doubt that he upholds Catholic doctrine and morals.

As a result more confusion, more doubt, more questions about the pope’s ability, his intentions and his game plan.

Well, maybe there is another angle as well. It could be that the pope wishes to foster confusion. In other words, he’s being unclear, ambiguous and open ended on purpose. Over at CRUX John Allen highlights the pope’s Holy Week speeches and homilies and paints the pope as “the great iconoclast” and the idol the pope is pushing over and breaking is what he calls the “idol of truth.” Read the Rest HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Although it’s no secret that we here at The Remnant have come to cyber-blows in the past with Father Longenecker, I maintain that he is an honest man of integrity who is genuinely interested in defending the truth. His conclusion is something we can all rally around—rad trad and non-rad trad alike:

Furthermore, while knowledgeable Catholics can dismiss headlines like, “Pope Says No Hell” you can be sure that our separated brethren read this and write off the Catholic Church as being just like any other liberal Protestant denomination.

They’re not right, but I can understand their reasoning.

All the more reason for Catholics at the local level to up their ante and be more radiantly, positively, joyfully Catholic. Now is the time for some truly dynamic, radical Catholicism to appear.

Indeed! God bless Father Longenecker for this courageous article. May more of his brother priests be encouraged by his priestly example to speak out and lead the scattering flock in the direction of faithful adherence to the traditional Catholic truth...no matter what Modernist balderdash might still be forthcoming from the Eternal City.

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Michael J. Matt has been an editor of The Remnant since 1990. Since 1994, he has been the newspaper's editor. A graduate of Christendom College, Michael Matt has written hundreds of articles on the state of the Church and the modern world. He is the host of The Remnant Underground and Remnant TV's The Remnant Forum. He's been U.S. Coordinator for Notre Dame de Chrétienté in Paris--the organization responsible for the Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres, France--since 2000. Mr. Matt has led the U.S. contingent on the Pilgrimage to Chartres for the last 24 years. He is a lecturer for the Roman Forum's Summer Symposium in Gardone Riviera, Italy. He is the author of Christian Fables, Legends of Christmas and Gods of Wasteland (Fifty Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll)and regularly delivers addresses and conferences to Catholic groups about the Mass, home-schooling, and the culture question. Together with his wife, Carol Lynn and their seven children, Mr. Matt currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.